Project Summary Microbes can live within virtually every habitat discovered. The ability to exploit unique biotic and abiotic factors in these locations leads to microbial specialization. But life in these habitats does not come easily; microbes have adapted to the factors that negatively impact their growth and survival by developing mechanisms that detect stress signals and that respond to such stress. Whether in aquatic, soil, or host environments, to survive, these microbes must respond to fluctuations in temperature, the concentrations of ions, nutrients, oxygen or other electron acceptors, toxins, and osmolytes. Delineating and understanding these stress responses impacts areas such as biotechnology, ecology, environmental biology, geochemical cycles, as well as the symbiosis and pathogenesis relationships that microbes establish with their eukaryotic hosts. The latest advances in the field will be the subject of the 2016 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Microbial Stress Response to be held from July 16-22 at Mount Holyoke College. This conference will bring together 175 international scientists seeking to understand how microbes sense and respond to noxious conditions. The invited speakers include established and highly recognized scientists as well as junior investigators. We anticipate the 2016 edition of the Microbial Stress Response GRC to continue the success of its predecessors where critical discoveries are unveiled for the first time to a multidisciplinary and critical audience.